Kiko Klassics: How a Long-Standing Partnership Brought ASICS to the Runway
The newfound dominance of lifestyle archive, which has seen the brand’s retro running catalogue become daily drivers for the fashion elite, is mostly credited to the influence of Bulgarian-born, London-based designer .
The partnership between Kiko and ASICS hasn’t been just a casual fling, instead these two have kept a steady bond for almost ten years, birthing banger sell-outs like the and GEL-Burz. Following the stock-standard collaborations, the next step in their courtship came when Kiko moved into the ASICS headquarters to play a key role in the lifestyle sector. After countless colabs and a barrage of in-house creations, the legacy of Kostadinov was immortalised with his own line dubbed .
The Kiko Kostadinov x ASICS partnership has been incredibly beneficial to both parties, allowing ASICS to dip their toes into a whole new world while giving Kostadinov the opportunity to reach a broader audience. Next year is the tenth anniversary since the duo began one of sneaker’s most fruitful and creative relationships, so let’s dive in to their rise to the top.
Early Days
Kostadinov reached colossal success early on in his career, blasting his way through the fashion industry’s red tape to garner critical acclaim and that valuable ASICS co-sign. By the time Kostadinov graduated from Central Saint Martins University of the Arts in 2016, fashion’s upper echelon were already abuzz about this fresh-faced Bulgarian. His penchant for technical trainers, aesthetic traits and sensibilities can be felt as early as his graduate show at CSM, which had models strutting the runway wearing . Some enthusiasts refer to Kostadinov as somewhat of a fashion prodigy, as he found his feet early on and perfected his ability to compete with the new guard of EU fashion. By his fourth season (Spring 2018 Menswear), Kostadinov debuted his ASICS work, which saw instant success despite the high price tag and Kostadinov’s relative obscurity in the mainstream sneaker market.
The Golden Years
The early models from Kiko and ASICS set the stage for their long-running partnership, with two commercial and artistic successes back-to-back. The GEL-Burz was the silhouette to first hit the catwalk and it touched down on retail shelves soon after. It sold out as quickly as any other hype colab in the industry, putting Kostadinov among the collaborators to watch and setting the course for ASICS to bring their offering to the forefront of fashion – especially within the burgeoning high-end menswear sector. The following season, Fall 2018, saw Kostadinov reveal a collection dubbed ‘Obscured by Clouds’, which was full of technical fabrics, knit crossbody bags and, of course, running sneaks. This collection cemented the designer’s cultural clout, with many pieces becoming future classics. This collection also introduced the GEL-Delva, which has since become a favourite for many of Kostadinov’s dedicated cult following. These early silhouettes were wonderfully wearable and laid the foundations for a thriving reputation.
Experimentation was the name of the game after the GEL-Delva and GEL-Burz, as Kostadinov’s originality delivered the change in wind the sneaker scene craved. The next venture was inspired by shoes used for the timeless game of tug-of-war and was dubbed the . This was the first Kostadinov colab that was on the harder-to-style side of things and provided a design that was truly for his niche following – instead of shooting for a wider target audience. Elevating the link-up, Kiko also brought his sub-label into bed with ASICS to rework the cult GEL-Kinsei. The golden years for Kiko Kostadinov and ASICS were between 2016 and 2019, when they were pushing plenty of radical products that went against conventional sneaker culture. Kostadinov was given free rein on the ASICS catalogue, where he reached his full creative visions and struck gold in the wider market in the process. Models like the hectic , and mixed with the no-nonsense and , displaying their range. ASICS had plenty of trust in Kostadinov too, giving full creative control to the designer to execute his vision, no matter how exploratory.
A New Dawn
The collaboration between Kostadinov and ASICS came to an end in 2020… well, kind of. After debuting their last co-branded efforts, the duo announced some exciting news. Instead of releasing collaborative work, Kostadinov and his team were set to continue working alongside ASICS, albeit this time inhouse at the brand, with the creation of new styles and colour palettes at a range of price points. The first example was the , which made way for a gaggle of ASICS’ older archive models. More recently, Kiko ’s side project with Moran Moran Gallery titled has garnered some sneakerverse love after he dedicated two collaborative models to his true fanbase. The brands have also prioritised world building by linking with many in-vogue third parties to conduct epic three-way colabs with the likes of , and . Despite the Kostadinov x ASICS love affair threatening to wind down in 2020, the duo instead turned up the heat with speciality threeway linkups and the occasional co-branded Kiko x ASICS release, such as the recent .
It’s hard to look past the historic co-branded craft that Kiko and ASICS dominated release calendars with, but their recent inline creations via NOVALIS and speciality work are the stars of each year’s PFW show. The two brands deepened their relationship through more eclectic constructions like the Ballet Hybrid, designed by the heads of Kiko’s womenswear arm Laura and Deanna Fanning, and the menswear-team-designed Zlatyu Shoe in 2023. Both of these releases boasted custom uppers with Gel-Kayano 14 sole units, and the Zlatyu received a multi-lace construction in place of a regular tongue. Also in 2023 ,after the duo worked together in house at ASICS for a number of years, they announced NOVALIS. This is the Kiko-led inline sub division of ASICS that held the space as the London brand’s unofficial diffusion line and had the mission statement of 'ASICS NOVALIS. Clothing for the practice of everyday life. ASICS NOVALIS. Everyday function and considered living. ASICS NOVALIS. Tools for considered living’. They released their first collection full of apparel and sneakers in early 2024.
